Middle East

Iran says Internet to 'Gradually' Return to Normal
Iran says Internet to 'Gradually' Return to Normal

Internet access in Iran will "gradually" return to normal this week, a senior Iranian official said Monday on the 11th day of an unprecedented shutdown. Iran earlier this month imposed a nationwide communications blackout amid huge anti-government protests.  The shutdown of communications accompanied a brutal government crackdown ...

Why Lebanon’s Shia Opposition Sees Opportunity in the 2026 Elections
Why Lebanon’s Shia Opposition Sees Opportunity in the 2026 Elections

Lebanon’s upcoming parliamentary elections are shaping up as a test of Hezbollah’s political standing at a moment of vulnerability, after the group suffered a major military blow in the 2024 war with Israel and faces mounting pressure from the Lebanese government’s pledge to disarm it nationwide. Since the 1992 parliamentary elections, the ...

Israel Pushes Back as Trump Unveils ‘Board of Peace’
Israel Pushes Back as Trump Unveils ‘Board of Peace’

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s proposed plan for Gaza on Monday, calling it “bad for Israel” and urging a full reoccupation of the enclave. Reportedly, as Washington promotes a post-war governance plan for Gaza, Israel has been signaling resistance not only diplomatically ...

Iraq Announces Complete Withdrawal of U.S.-Led Coalition From Federal Territory
Iraq Announces Complete Withdrawal of U.S.-Led Coalition From Federal Territory

Iraq said on Sunday US-led coalition forces had finished withdrawing from bases within the country's federal territory, which excludes the autonomous northern Kurdistan region. "We announce today... the completion of the evacuation of all military bases and leadership headquarters in the official federal areas of Iraq of advisers" of the US-led ...

CEO of Iranian Telecom Operator Fired for Failing to Block Internet
CEO of Iranian Telecom Operator Fired for Failing to Block Internet

The chief executive of Irancell, Iran's second-largest mobile phone operator, was dismissed for failing to comply with the government's decision to shut down the internet, the Fars news agency reported Sunday. In an unprecedented move, Iran cut off all communications on January 8 without warning, as calls intensified for anti-government protests, ...

Syria's Leader Agrees Truce With Kurds After Govt Troops Advance
Syria's Leader Agrees Truce With Kurds After Govt Troops Advance

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country's north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes ...

Khamenei Accuses Trump of \
Khamenei Accuses Trump of "Incitement, Destruction"

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday alleged U.S. President Donald Trump was responsible for the slaughter of protesters in Iran, saying "We see the president of the United States as a criminal, because of the deaths, destruction and incitement he has committed against the Iranian nation.”  “We do not intend to lead the country to ...

Naim Kassem Slams Lebanon’s Foreign Minister
Naim Kassem Slams Lebanon’s Foreign Minister

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Kassem on Saturday sharply criticized Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, accusing him of “acting against the presidency, the government, the Lebanese people, and the resistance.” In a speech during a religious ceremony, Kassem said the absence of an effective foreign minister had ...

Trump Invites Foreign Leaders to Join Gaza 'Board of Peace'
Trump Invites Foreign Leaders to Join Gaza 'Board of Peace'

U.S. President Donald Trump has invited Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to join the so-called Board of Peace that will oversee post-war Gaza, Turkey said Saturday. Erdogan received the proposal in a letter sent Friday by Trump inviting him to "become a founding member" of the board, Turkish presidential communications director ...

Gaza Governance Committee Begins Work
Gaza Governance Committee Begins Work

The Palestinian committee set to govern post-war Gaza has begun its work in Cairo, a member told AFP on Friday. Formed on Wednesday as the second phase of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal came into effect, the committee is made up of 15 technocrats charged with administering the Palestinian territory after the Hamas-Israel war. The ...

Exclusive: Trump States U.S. Decision Not to Attack Iran Due to Cancelled Executions
Exclusive: Trump States U.S. Decision Not to Attack Iran Due to Cancelled Executions

Speaking to the press on Friday, President Trump stated that his decision not to attack Iran was not influenced by Arab and Israeli officials, but rather due to Iran cancelling the mass-execution of 800 protesters.  When asked why he made this decision, he stressed that “nobody convinced me, I convinced myself. [Iran] had yesterday scheduled ...